Michelle Chihara
@thisblue.bsky.social
Los Angeles since 2003. Media Studies, Critical Finance; power ballads; history of this wild city Find me at michellechihara.com
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20 books we can't wait to read in 2026
Looking for your next great read? We asked critics, authors and literary folks about town to share books they’re most excited for in 2026. Featuring new works by Tayari Jones, Claudia Rankine, Jesmyn ...
www.latimes.com
Especially in dark times, reading for pleasure is important— spiritually, collectively — Check out the books a few writers and editors (including me) are looking forward to!! @latimes www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
When he gave the Grammy to that young boy who made everyone think of Liam…even if that wasn’t actually Liam, it was just the perfect way of cutting through all the bullshit.
Every kid impacted by this administration’s cruelty is another Liam.
Every kid impacted by this administration’s cruelty is another Liam.
February 9, 2026 at 1:43 AM
When he gave the Grammy to that young boy who made everyone think of Liam…even if that wasn’t actually Liam, it was just the perfect way of cutting through all the bullshit.
Every kid impacted by this administration’s cruelty is another Liam.
Every kid impacted by this administration’s cruelty is another Liam.
🔥Bad Bunny halftime plus Contra ICE towels 🔥
February 9, 2026 at 4:08 AM
🔥Bad Bunny halftime plus Contra ICE towels 🔥
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
On a similar note, as Mamdani continues to notch W after W you’re going to start seeing opinion pieces about how this could never work in any city other than New York, etc., etc. Do not engage! It’s just entrenched power bullshit and that’s all! Don’t let them make that a conversation!
February 6, 2026 at 7:04 PM
On a similar note, as Mamdani continues to notch W after W you’re going to start seeing opinion pieces about how this could never work in any city other than New York, etc., etc. Do not engage! It’s just entrenched power bullshit and that’s all! Don’t let them make that a conversation!
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
Fabian Muniesa - 'Finance, technology, and fascism today' @ UC Berkeley 26/02/2026 besi.berkeley.edu/event/financ...
February 5, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Fabian Muniesa - 'Finance, technology, and fascism today' @ UC Berkeley 26/02/2026 besi.berkeley.edu/event/financ...
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
I liked reading this and will be thinking about it: www.nplusonemag.com/issue-52/rev...
Not All Women | Dayna Tortorici
The point of all this cataloging — which is less schematic in Lewis’s presentation than my summary suggests — is to help us recognize traces of enemy feminism when we encounter them in the present. An...
www.nplusonemag.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I liked reading this and will be thinking about it: www.nplusonemag.com/issue-52/rev...
Especially in dark times, reading for pleasure is important— spiritually, collectively — Check out the books a few writers and editors (including me) are looking forward to!! @latimes www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
20 books we can't wait to read in 2026
Looking for your next great read? We asked critics, authors and literary folks about town to share books they’re most excited for in 2026. Featuring new works by Tayari Jones, Claudia Rankine, Jesmyn ...
www.latimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Especially in dark times, reading for pleasure is important— spiritually, collectively — Check out the books a few writers and editors (including me) are looking forward to!! @latimes www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
Great piece on Los Angeles cutting down trees to reduce shade out of some misguided belief it will reduce crime and not just make the city more inhospitable. This place could be so amazing if city leadership weren't such a mess. lareported.substack.com/p/shade-remo...
Uncool
Whacking L.A. trees in a mistaken effort to reduce crime
lareported.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Great piece on Los Angeles cutting down trees to reduce shade out of some misguided belief it will reduce crime and not just make the city more inhospitable. This place could be so amazing if city leadership weren't such a mess. lareported.substack.com/p/shade-remo...
Truly so excited for ‘good’ and ‘bad’ decisions, both
February 1, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Truly so excited for ‘good’ and ‘bad’ decisions, both
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
according to the @latimes.com and @thisblue.bsky.social, if you want to make good decisions this spring, you should pre-order my book!
(as well as @robinnelee.bsky.social's 'crash into me', for when you're ready to give into temptation)
www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
(as well as @robinnelee.bsky.social's 'crash into me', for when you're ready to give into temptation)
www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
January 30, 2026 at 2:26 PM
according to the @latimes.com and @thisblue.bsky.social, if you want to make good decisions this spring, you should pre-order my book!
(as well as @robinnelee.bsky.social's 'crash into me', for when you're ready to give into temptation)
www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
(as well as @robinnelee.bsky.social's 'crash into me', for when you're ready to give into temptation)
www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
I've never seen a population more united. If people can hold onto that unity, if people can accept that different people will have different ways of confronting fascism, if we can remind NGOs and orgs that they can join but not control the resistance, then, well, people here will write history.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I've never seen a population more united. If people can hold onto that unity, if people can accept that different people will have different ways of confronting fascism, if we can remind NGOs and orgs that they can join but not control the resistance, then, well, people here will write history.
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
From platform capitalism to Hybe 7M TikTok cult economy
January 18, 2026 at 7:13 PM
From platform capitalism to Hybe 7M TikTok cult economy
The apocalyptic redefinition of failing up
January 18, 2026 at 5:47 PM
The apocalyptic redefinition of failing up
Mr Beast is a walking harbinger of doom, remember when he had to apologize for talking about buying Black people?
January 18, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Mr Beast is a walking harbinger of doom, remember when he had to apologize for talking about buying Black people?
The entire economy is a leveraged bet on who can throw the sharpest elbows in a game of Pay Me First
January 18, 2026 at 5:41 PM
The entire economy is a leveraged bet on who can throw the sharpest elbows in a game of Pay Me First
🧵
I'm not at MLA this weekend, for reasons which I think must remain front & center (see my post[s] from a year ago).
And which do thanks to scholars like Liron Mor & Tithi Bhattacharya who have declined to receive prizes from the MLA this year (I'll drop links to their letters later in this thread).
And which do thanks to scholars like Liron Mor & Tithi Bhattacharya who have declined to receive prizes from the MLA this year (I'll drop links to their letters later in this thread).
What The MLA Is...
The organization has chosen an interpretation of fiduciary responsibility beyond the wildest hopes of Chicago School economists.
theamericanvandal.substack.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:23 PM
🧵
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
January 1, 2026 at 10:30 PM
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
what a shocking turn of events
who could’ve seen this coming
who could’ve seen this coming
OpenAI Reportedly Planning to Make ChatGPT "Prioritize" Advertisers in Conversation
OpenAI employees working on ChatGPT report plans to unleash sponsored advertisements above organic results.
futurism.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:07 AM
what a shocking turn of events
who could’ve seen this coming
who could’ve seen this coming
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
This research by @thisblue.bsky.social is very pertinent here.
Radical flexibility: driving for Lyft and the future of work in the platform economy
Labour conditions in the first two decades of the twenty-first century in the US have become increasingly precarious and abusive. At the same time, many workers and users (no longer easily categori...
www.tandfonline.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:28 AM
This research by @thisblue.bsky.social is very pertinent here.
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
I've tried and failed a couple times to write a post explaining how serious this would be. NCAR is globally essential to our climate change response. This can't just be replaced. Every scientist in the world will be doing climate research with one hand tied behind their back for at least a decade
Exclusive: The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado
The Trump administration is breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
bit.ly
December 17, 2025 at 2:30 AM
I've tried and failed a couple times to write a post explaining how serious this would be. NCAR is globally essential to our climate change response. This can't just be replaced. Every scientist in the world will be doing climate research with one hand tied behind their back for at least a decade
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
"I’ve concluded that instead of teaching students to read and write, I should be teaching them how to prompt AI better. If only I’d had a better education in AI prompt writing, I’d be able to get AI to create more AI-proof teaching materials for me."
I Need AI to Write Better Lesson Plans So My Students Stop Using AI to Write Their Papers
I care deeply about my students’ learning, but with all the new technologies available to help them cut corners, I worry that they’re not doing the...
buff.ly
November 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM
"I’ve concluded that instead of teaching students to read and write, I should be teaching them how to prompt AI better. If only I’d had a better education in AI prompt writing, I’d be able to get AI to create more AI-proof teaching materials for me."
💯History of Palo Alto is the history of capitalism, everybody read their Malcolm Harris
If you're wondering why a large chunk of ostensibly left-of-center pundits are waging war on environmental protections in the form of an "abundance agenda," it's because Silicon Valley has quietly developed a culture of rampant pollution.
EPA fines Apple over hazardous waste violations at Santa Clara factory
November 20, 2025 at 4:24 PM
💯History of Palo Alto is the history of capitalism, everybody read their Malcolm Harris
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
I wasn't familiar with Elle Cordova's work. I like this a lot:
For our scientists
YouTube video by Elle Cordova
www.youtube.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I wasn't familiar with Elle Cordova's work. I like this a lot:
Reposted by Michelle Chihara
"There is a link between finance and paranoia, and that link may well be inescapable." www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
April 23, 2025 at 10:52 AM
"There is a link between finance and paranoia, and that link may well be inescapable." www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
Here's the link: harpers.org/archive/2025...
5/5
5/5
The Goon Squad, by Daniel Kolitz
Loneliness, porn’s next frontier, and the dream of endless masturbation
harpers.org
November 18, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Here's the link: harpers.org/archive/2025...
5/5
5/5